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Although colleges and universities typically employ input metrics such as volunteer hours to assess the contributions of campus-community engagement, they often fail to measure outputs in reciprocal partnerships with community leaders. This article discusses a community-based participatory action research (CBPR) study that centered on community expertise and assessments of campus-community engagement in determining the outcomes for regional civic health and equity. The study used collective impact and decolonial theories, and involved community and campus leaders from three Colorado universities working collectively to develop instruments for determining measurable contributions of campus-community engagement. Findings demonstrated that collective impact and CBPR are well suited to supporting reciprocal partnerships between universities and community leaders aimed at assessing and decolonializing campus-community engagement. The findings also revealed that campus assessments differed from community assessments in illuminating ways. The article concludes with actionable recommendations for campuses interested in fostering collective impact and CBPR in efforts to improve regional civic health and equity.

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This essay reflects on the power of storytelling and narrative in a collaborative partnership that engaged undergraduate pre-service English as Second Language (ESL) candidates and their professor with local ESL high school teachers, immigrant and refugee students, and their families. It describes how undergraduate students worked with teachers and students to collect stories and publish a multilingual book about their journeys, memories of home, and transitions into their new life in the United States. This project and the resulting self-published book, which was shared at several community and public events, exemplify the fundamentals of reciprocal and transformative partnerships. The nature and importance of such partnerships are examined, including recommendations for similar undertakings, and a discussion about how the book students and families were empowered by sharing their voices. It closes by examining how the book became a tangible means to transcend the initial partnership and to promoting new understandings and relationships through sustained community engagement.